Lonnie Franklin Jr next to a picture of missing women in LA that was found in his home

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A SERIAL killer known as the Grim Sleeper has been sentenced to death for murdering nine women and a teenage girl over more than two decades in Los Angeles.

Lonnie Franklin Jr, 63, a former city rubbish collector and garage attendant for Los Angeles police, was convicted of 10 counts of first-degree murder last month for crimes dating back more than 30 years.

He became known as the Grim Sleeper after apparently taking a sustained break from his killing spree before returning to claim more victims.

Photographs of 180 missing women seized from the home of Lonnie David Franklin Jr (Image: Getty)

Family members of those he killed cried on Monday as the verdicts on punishment were read.

A prosecutor had asked jurors to show Franklin the same compassion he showed his victims and give him the "ultimate penalty". An emotional defence lawyer asked jurors to sentence him to life without parole to hasten the healing process for the victims' family members.

But the jury called for the death penalty on all 10 murder counts and the judge set formal sentencing for August 10 when he will carry out the jury's wishes and condemn Franklin to death.

Franklin said, "Yes, your honour," in regards to the date but otherwise sat quietly and stared straight ahead the entire time. As he walked into court, family members of the victims whispered: "Dead man walking."

Most of the killings followed a similar pattern. Women were either fatally shot, choked - or both - and their partly clad or naked bodies were dumped in alleys and rubbish bins in the impoverished area where Franklin lived in south LA.

(Image: LA Sheriff's Department)

Police did not connect the crimes to a serial killer for years and victims' family members and community residents complained the killings were not thoroughly investigated because the victims were poor and black, and some were prostitutes who had been using cocaine.

Franklin came under suspicion after a task force began re-examining the cold cases following the final killing in 2007 and DNA from his son showed similarities to genetic evidence found on some of the victims.

A detective posing as a worker at a pizza parlour later collected utensils and crusts from Franklin while he was attending a birthday party. Lab results connected him to evidence found on several discarded bodies.

The culprit had been dubbed the Grim Sleeper because of an apparent gap in killings between 1988 and 2002. Police once thought the killer may have been in prison during that period and later surmised he may have laid low after one victim barely survived a November 1988 assault.

Authorities, however, now say they do not think Franklin ever rested.

Photographs of 180 missing women seized from the home of Lonnie David Franklin Jr (Image: Getty)

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman was able to introduce evidence of four additional killings during the penalty phase, including one that linked Franklin to a killing in 2000 during the apparent "sleep". She also presented evidence of a 1984 slaying - a year before the first murder he was convicted of.

Prosecutors said they did not charge Franklin with the additional killings because it would have delayed the case that took nearly six years to bring to trial.

The 1984 killing of Sharon Dismuke, whose body was found naked in an abandoned petrol station toilet, was like a bookend with the final killing of Janecia Peters, who was found curled-up naked in a rubbish bag in a communal bin in 2007, Ms Silverman said.

Ballistics evidence showed the same gun was used to shoot both women and the weapon was found in Franklin's garage after his arrest in 2010.

Defence lawyers questioned forensic evidence at trial and said DNA from other men was also found on several bodies. They suggested a "mystery man", possibly a relative of Franklin's, was the real killer.

Photographs of 180 missing women seized from the home of Lonnie David Franklin Jr (Image: Getty)

The survivor who Franklin was convicted of attempting to murder helped prosecutors establish the killer's modus operandi.

Enietra Washington described getting a lift from Franklin in his orange Ford Pinto and being shot in the chest while she sat in the passenger seat.

As she was losing consciousness, he sexually assaulted her and she remembered seeing the flash from a Polaroid camera.

A photo of a bleeding and partly nude Washington was later found hidden behind a wall in Franklin's garage. Police found photos of other victims in the home.

Nearly 30 years after Washington was left for dead on the side of a road, she pointed at Franklin in court and said: "That's the person who shot me."